About the Weekend: Stony Brook heads south for the weekend as it continues its climb up the America East standings. The Seawolves will clash with the UMBC Retrievers in a three-game series beginning Saturday with a doubleheader. The two teams currently occupy fifth and sixth in the standings, but the Seawolves are hot on the heels of Binghamton and Hartford for third and fourth. Stony Brook is 22-1 in its last 23 games against UMBC, dating back to 2009.

The Scenario: Stony Brook is 9-12 in America East and sits in fifth place. The Seawolves trail fourth-place Binghamton by 1-1/2 games. The Bearcats are 10-10. Third-place Hartford is 11-10. Binghamton and Hartford play each other this weekend, giving the Seawolves a chance to gain ground on one or the other this weekend. Only the top four teams will advance to the America East Championship.

Conference Rules: Stony Brook's America East schedule looks a little different than in years past. This season, America East has moved to a full round-robin schedule. All teams will play three-game home-and-home series against each opponent for a total of 30 conference games. On Saturday doubleheaders, the first game will be a seven-inning game, followed by a nine-inning game. Sunday single games will be nine-inning affairs.

Dominating the League: No one has been more dominant in conference play over the last few seasons than Stony Brook. Since the start of the 2011 season, the Seawolves are 52-17 (.754) against their America East foes.

Last Time Out: Cole Peragine hit a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning that broke a 2-2 tie and lift the Seawolves to a 4-2 victory over Fairfield last Wednesday at Joe Nathan Field. Peragine's blast vindicated SB's great pitching day as four pitchers combined to limit the Stags to five hits and one earned run. Peragine finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Anthony Italiano was 3-for-3 to snap a 1-for-25 skid. Chad Lee earned the win in relief, pitching the final two innings and striking out three.

The Complete Package: Earlier this season, Frankie Vanderka tossed four consecutive complete games, all Seawolves wins. He is second in the nation in complete games with six, just two behind the national leader. He is fourth in America East with a 2.14 ERA and tied for fifth in strikeouts with 50.

Courtney Slugs His Way to an Award: Kevin Courtney was named America East Player of the Week on April 29 after hitting .333 and slugging .833 in five games. He homered twice in Stony Brook's three-game series at Binghamton and drove in seven runs. One of his homers was a grand slam and served as the game-winner in a 5-1 victory. Courtney is dominating during conference play. In 21 America East games, he's hitting .343 with a conference-best five home runs and 24 RBI.

Zamora Cleans Up: Daniel Zamora repeated as America East Rookie of the Week on April 29 after tossing seven strong innings and allowing just one run in Stony Brook's 8-4 series-clinching win at Binghamton. He now has been named Rookie of the Week four times.

Knesnik Pitches In: Freshman Tim Knesnik became the fourth different Stony Brook player to earn America East Rookie of the Week honors when he was the recipient of the award on April 15. Knesnik pitched eight innings last week, tossing three hitless innings against Manhattan and then pitching five innings of relief and earning the victory in Stony Brook's 5-4 extra innings win vs. Hartford. In the eight innings, Knesnik allowed just one run and struck out six batters. He helped keep Stony Brook in the game vs. Hartford when he escaped a first-and-third, no outs situation in the 10th inning without giving up a run.

Zamora Earns the Honor: Freshman Daniel Zamora struck out a career-high nine batters on his way to his first collegiate victory, a 5-2 win over UMBC on March 30. The effort earned him America East Rookie of the Week honors.

Parenty on a Roll: Freshman Jack Parenty was named America East Rookie of the Week on March 25 after hitting .533 in four games. He is currently hitting an America East best .368 this season and is currently on an 18-game hitting streak.

Frankie Say No-No: On March 10, Frankie Vanderka once again etched his name into the record books by throwing a no-hitter against Fordham in the Seawolves' 2-0 win. Vanderka pitched nine innings and struck out six hitters while walking three (one intentionally). The no-hitter was the second of his career and it earned him national, regional and conference honors. He was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week, CollegeBaseballInsider.com Northeast Region Pitcher of the Week and America East Pitcher of the Week.

Shives Honored: Austin Shives was named America East Rookie of the Week on March 11. He batted .417 in four games last week, second-best on the team, while driving in two runs, both coming in Stony Brook's 5-1 win over Iona on March 5. He followed that performance with a three-hit game at Fordham, the first three-hit game of his young career.

Weekly Honors: Stony Brook pitchers Frankie Vanderka and Daniel Zamora picked up weekly honors from America East on Feb. 18. Vanderka was named Pitcher of the Week after posting six shutout innings at Florida International. Zamora was named Rookie of the Week for tossing six innings and allowing just one run and striking out six in his collegiate debut at Florida International.

Seawolves in the Pros: Stony Brook currently has nine players active in Major and Minor League Baseball, seven of whom were on active opening day rosters. The group is headlined five-time MLB All-Star Joe Nathan. Read the full story here.

America East Championship Heads to Lowell: The 2013 America East Championship will be moving to a neutral site - LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass., home of the Boston Red Sox Class A Short Season affiliate Lowell Spinners. The four-team tournament takes place May 22-24, and the winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Shock the World: Stony Brook had a dream 2012 season, reaching the College World Series for the first time ever after knocking off six-time national champion LSU in the NCAA Super Regionals. Relive the run by reading the season recap.